China has become a global leader in snooker in the last decade. The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association has been trying to help the sport in China. China is home to more than 50 million snooker enthusiasts, making it the most populous snooker country. But the Chinese haven't yet seen a winner of the world championship. It is expected that the number of Chinese snooker players will increase rapidly as the sport becomes more popular.
Chinese snooker players have been hailed as icons of their country. There are thousands of people who gather to watch the tournaments. They are treated like stars, get red carpet entrances and champagne receptions. As the popularity of the sport grows, more and more young players are emerging. Among the younger players are Tian Pengfei and Zhang Jiankang.
Despite China having become the leading force in snooker over recent years, another scandal has rocked this sport. Yu Delu, a former professional player, was banned on 1/12 for match-fixing. Yu is currently under a 10-year ban. WPBSA is also looking into match-fixing allegations to bet purposes.
Although there have not been any bans on specific players, they cast a shadow over this sport. There are only 12 Chinese players in the top 64 of the world. This number has been reduced from 12 to 11, after Zhao Xintong was added to the suspension. Additionally, the CBSA is currently investigating allegations that Liang Wenbo and Lu Ning were involved with match-fixing.
Yan Bingtao who is the 2021 Masters Champion is the largest name in the investigation. He was supposed to play in the World Snooker Tour's next month event. After drawing against Mark Williams in round one, he was disqualified. His prediction of being the first Chinese player to win the world championship was high, but his comments regarding the ongoing investigation are limited.
Zhao Xintong of China is also suspended from this year's World Snooker Tour. He was the world's number one player earlier this season. He is considered one of the top players in the game. But now, he is being investigated as part of a global probe into match-fixing.
The investigation also included former world no. 11 Liang Wenbo, who was suspended in October. Other Chinese players were also disciplined for cheating and abuse. These are just a handful of players in China, compared with the many millions of fans who follow the sport.
However, the World Tour has a lot of Chinese players which shows the popularity of the game in China. There are even more tournaments in China.
However, the country still has a long road ahead of it to be as successful in snooker as the UK. With more tournaments being staged, more young Chinese players are making their way onto the professional snooker scene.
Zhao Xintong is currently the highest-ranking Chinese player in the world, followed by Ding Junhui. Ding has won numerous ranking titles, and he has an enormous following in China. Ding expressed his desire to win the World Championship, even though he did not win a championship.